Click photo to enlarge
The library is an attraction for 104-year-old Helen Miller, raised in Red Lion, who'll seek out anything new to read.

Raindrops pounded against the top of the van as its hydraulic door opened to reveal a tiny woman holding a sunflower-print umbrella.

With help, Helen Miller pushed her walker from the parking lot into Kaltreider-Benfer Library and made her way to the large-print section.

Miller, 104, didn't waste time looking for a specific read. She was satisfied with anything new.

With help, she selected a mystery, then sat down to chat about the past. At times, Miller, who has a hearing impairment, said, "In my day . . ."

Miller, who was raised in Red Lion, recalled gravel streets and riding in a spring wagon drawn by two horses. Later, there were crank-up cars with blinds, and five hotels in the town, she said.

She came from a large family. Her father helped build roads for a living. Her mother -- who had attended a one-room schoolhouse -- stayed home to care for the children.

Miller and her sister had to quit school in eighth grade and work as cigar banders in their uncle's tobacco factory to help support the family.

"There was no child labor law," she said. "My parents needed we older girls to work and earn money to help bring up the younger ones."

It's been 86 years, and Miller is still proud that her father encouraged her to vote when she turned 18.

"That is your privilege," she said of her father's words.

She's also pleased she learned to sing and play the violin. Miller, a soprano, can still carry a tune.

In 1927, she married Albert Schlag, and the couple had one daughter. Schlag died, and in 1985 she married David Miller, who left her a widow for the second time.

Today, Miller has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

"I'm proud of my family," she said. "The grandchildren all went to college."

When she was 99, Miller moved to The Brunswick, the assisted-living home where she now resides.

Barry Yingling, chaplain at The Brunswick, said Miller likes to win at board and card games.

"She has not lost her competitive edge," he said, adding that Miller keeps a positive outlook. "She never loses faith. She loves her Lord."

Miller's daughter, Sara Garbrick of Manchester Township, is helping her mother type her memoirs.

"She remembers when the young men of Red Lion went off to World War I," Garbrick said.

Miller, when asked how she's managed to stay healthy and relatively active for more than a century, chalked her longevity up to common sense.

"We were taught to be careful and take care of our health," Miller said. "I just take one day at a time and live the best I can. . . . I always strived to be honest."